place in massachusetts, to cast his ballot with his wife an. after that, ohio and pennsylvania before returning to boston to watch returns. president obama who voted early last month dropped by a chicago campaign office to thank volunteers. but for both candidates, virginia is one of the battlegrounds they'll be most closely watching tonight. one both have visited in the past four days. >> how are you doing? >> reporter: in prince william county is a battleground within a battle ground. this man is sticking with the president in 2012. >> feel pretty good about it. i think that a lot of policies that he put in place, you don't see it until four years later. >> reporter: this young voter is casting his first ballot for barack obama. >> i did vote obama because he did a lot of changes. for instance, he ended one war in iraq. >> this voter is a change. an obama voter in 2008, the slow

improvement in the economy has him making a switch. >> i voted for romney just because of the economy. i like obama. i think he is -- i think we need something changed up to affect the direction of the economy. >> reporter: this woman also says the economy, along with the unemployment rate, drove her to vote for mitt romney. >> i have a daughter unemployed over a year, you know. it's just those issues. >> reporter: now, we're seeing some very interesting turnout trends across the commonwealth today. some had speculated the turnout would be well below 2008 but it is looking like that might not be the case. i'll have that coming up. for now, live from rich monday. 'tis battle of the governors. tim kaine versus george allen. now more on that pivotal and

expensive contest. >> reporter: this is where george allen will be and tim kaine will be waiting for results at the marriott. they will lill literally not be far apart and that's fitting since that's the way it is in the polls, too. george allen will be in richmond tonight. he cast his ballot early in alexander re. a tim kaine woke up in richmond to vote and will stay put. both talked about the economy and planned defense cuts impacting virginia's military workers for months now. in the en, they wanted to make sure their name was on voters' minds going into the polls. supporter always butler short, posted signs outside a norton polling station. then she went in to vote. >> he is all about vote jobs. isn't that what this election is all about? the economy and he is about using the energy in virginia which again would create more jobs. >> reporter: voter core win long said he made his decision for

tim kaine. >> he is a moderate democrat. i favor moderate republicans and moderate democrats. the choice between those two so i went with the democrat. >> reporter: some voters say no mat here the final vote goes to, it is a relief to see the end of the tv ads in particular. >> anything on television without having ads. and i am so sick of it. >> reporter: some political watchers expect that the virginia senate race will be followed by the presidential race, meaning that if the democrats take presidency, tim kaine will be senator. if it goes to the republicans, then george allen. we'll have to see. we'll explore that more at 6:00. richard jordan, news4. >> voting wasn't quick or easy for thousands of people in our area who waited in long lines today. and it didn't matter whether you voted in virginia, the district

or maryland. a look at some of the problems that slowed down voting. >> reporter: they've handled here at roosevelt high school. these are people here handing out campaign materials. there are no lines, no problems that we're hearing about right now. earlier this morning, it was a very different story. in prince george's county, some residents waited in line for hours to vote. for shirley, it was three and a half hours. >> we didn't know what was going on. and after about an hour, hour and a half, some of the members. >> reporter: some of the wait was because people turned out to cast their ballots in the morning. but voters said when the computers went down, that made the delays and confusion even worse. >> some of the machines were broke down. they lost actually half the machines. the lines were disorganized. it was tough.

we've got i done. >> reporter: then there were inconveniences for seniors and the disabled. some waited outside because they didn't know they could wait insi. many like berth a who uses walker had a long wait as well. >> about an hour and a half, i guess. maybe two. >> reporter: here at this by lingual school, reports of people standing in these lines for as long as three hours. >> i've been here for like 25, 30 years, i've never seen lines like this. never. >> reporter: for many busy washingtonians, that meant rushing from the polls to the office. >> the electronic machine -- >> reporter: despite the election day waits, challenges and frustrations, most voters we spoke to were still in good spirits on this election day. >> i just want my voice to be hear. my first time voting. i really want to vote.

>> reporter: so for those who missed that early morning crunch, there are still a couple more hours before the polls close here in maryland. coming up at 6:00, we talk to the county executive about what he thought about how things went today. we'll hear from him. reporting live from green belt. darcy spender, news4. >> we'll have a lot of election coverage for you throughout the next 90 minutes and it will be on all night long. plus, nbcwashington.com. we'll be live streaming all of our nch could. i'm going to be joining tom. tom and i will be anchoring some of those at nbc washington.com starting at 7:00. so join us there. you can tell us about your voting experience. you can tweet us at nbcwashington #decision 2012. all eyes on a coastal storm that could smack the new jersey

and new york coastlines again. >> while you'll be doing a lot of work for this election, i will be doing no extra work for this storm. that should tell you something. during sandy, we were here the entire time. this storm is not going to be anything like that in our area at all. yes, i think we'll see some wins. yes, i think we'll see maybe a little rain and snow. this is not going to have a big impact on our area. it is going to take shape. not much of an impact on our weather. we're just on the cold side. 45 degrees. winds out of the east at nine miles per hour. temperatures around the rest of the region into the 30s already. in winchester, 39 degrees. 49 in gaithersburg. 43 in manassas. it is a very cold night. this storm will affect us at least a little bit in parts of the area. i'll show you who gets what and when coming up in my full forecast. >> all right. a candidate for d.c.'s advisory neighborhood commission

was arrested today in southwest washington. >> grace daughtridge is accused of attacking a man who she thought was tampering with her signs. pat collins is live in southwest with more on this election day scuffle. >> reporter: precinct 127. more than 100 votes cast so far and one assaultee. the suspect? one of the candidates. she is on the police advisory committee for the first district. today, grace daughtridge found herself handcuffed and arrested by first district police officers. the charge, simple assault. with hate crime overtones. according to the report, miss daughtridge yelled some homophobic slurs. in answer to the hate crime question, it says, anti-male

homosexual gay. this alleged assault took place as people were coming out to vote. they say it happened around 11:30 this morning at the green leaf recreation center. the polling place for precinct 127. they say grace daughtridge accused a man of tampering with one of her campaign signs. they said she ran up and actually tackled the man to the ground and continued to yell at thean as he made his way into the polling place. linda is the precinct captain. she call the cops. did he get physical? >> it was on its way to being physical if two other people had not run over to assist the gentleman. >> reporter: and you call the cop. >> i called the police. >> reporter: grace daughtridge released with the promise she'll report to court to face the charges. live in southwest, pat collins,

news4. our coverage of this election day continues. we go to northern virginia where voters spent hours waiting in line. both sides spending millions of dollars on question 7. we know traci wilkins reports on breeg another casino to maryland. >> r

. maryland voters have some big decisions to make in the voting booth apart from the presidential election in one of the most publicized on the ballot question 7. that would expand gambling in the state. prince george's county bureau chief tracee wilkins is there. >> reporter: maryland voters have a big decision to make. so do the folks who live here in prince george's county. and after months of back and forth, now the people will have a chance to decide on voting on gaming expansion. the 2012 regular legislative session ended in annapolis without a ballot question for a new casino in prince george's. just ask the opposition breathed a sigh of relief. governor o'malley called for a summer special session. after days of negotiations,

question 7 was pen. question 7 will allow for the edition of table game at maryland casinos. 24 hour casino operation and create a sixth casino in prince george's county among other things. immediately following its approval of annapolis, the most expensive campaigning in maryland's history began. there has been an estimated $71 million spend total on ads and an all-out effort to sway voters. the likely operator of the new casino in prince george's has spent an estimated $30 million. >> the no on 7 campaign is anti-jobs for maryland. it is anti-tax revenue for maryland. >> reporter: the casino company that owns a west virginia casino stands to lose money. they paid $41 million trying to convince voters that gambling money won't help education in maryland. supporters of the measure include governor martin o'maly,

prince george's county executive baker, former executive. only a few top level democrats have spoken out against question 7. the most vocal, maryland's comptroll comptroller. >> this is really why we need a no vote. it will establish a little bit of a check and balance, a political power that casinos are gaining in maryland. >> reporter: u.s. congresswoman donna edwards who actually lives here released a statement saying question 7 is not the answer for prince george's county. our county has struggled to overcome political corruption, low student achievement, and a lack of high-paying joks. now coming up at 6:00 p.m., we talk with folks at the poll to find out how question 7 is doing. and we'll answer the question. what happens if prince george's county says yes to a casino but maryland says no to to have gaming expansion and vice versa. i'll have that at 6:00.

i'm tracee wilkins, news4. >> it will be a big night. and tomorrow, not such a big day. >> some change is coming. >> i should have worn my old shoes. don't wear open toed shoes just in case. you're not going to have to, you will not need the umbrellas for the most part. you will not need the shovels for the most part. this is not going to be big a storm for us. but for those areas affected by sandy, this will be a pretty big deal. outside, the temperature on the cold side. one of the coldest if not the coldest election day since 1960. 45 degrees, we're talking about. you can see the clouds have moved in. those clouds ahead of our next system right now making its way up the coast. 41 in martinsburg. in gaithersburg, a cold 37. right now back down to 39 degrees.

so you can see the numbers continuing to fall. it will be a very cold night across our region. no wind to talk about. no snow across the area. if it was falling, it would probably be snow. here come our storm. the coastal storm right along the coast. most of this energy will stay just off the coast. redevelop and intensify. just to our north. that puts philadelphia, new york city, those areas, boston, into the cross hairs as far as the big storm goes. for washington, i think this is going to go right on by us. here's what our computer model says. we do have some sunshine. that's what we saw out there. chilly conditions. watch as the storm moves up. the wind will be here. i think we'll see 20, 30, 40-mile-an-hour winds. potential, 50-mile-an-hour winds along the coast. the beaches will have problems again with minor to moderate flooding. especially at times of high tide. notice where the precipitation is.

well off toward the east. i do think it will be a little bit closer. i think we'll see a mixture of snow. especially tomorrow evening, from washington, d.c. to the north and east but that's about it. if you're south and west washington, you may not see anything at all from this storm other than the fact that we'll see the clouds and the wind on. thursday this storm system moves out. here come the sunshine and that starts a fantastic afternoon. here's what to expect tomorrow. into wednesday night, thursday morning. periods of rain and snow. mostly light. the best chance of that will be from washington to the north and east. especially toward prince george's county toward howard county and anne arundel county. the greatest concern is still on thursday. that's when we see the coldest air. we could see a few slick spots. once again, not too worried about this. quite chilly. temperatures, 38 to 44. tomorrow morning, waking up to another cold start. 20s in the suburbs to mid 30s inside the city and mostly cloudy skies. we'll see the showers start to move in. the precipitation move in. it will be a mix of rain and

snow. some areas will see some snow. 40 for tomorrow. 53 for thursday. and then here we go. you can put the sandals on. don't worry about those old shoes. saturday and sunday, sunshine moves in with highs in the 60s. >> but 46 for the low. no sandal that's day. >> at least not in the morning. >> everybody is concerned about their shoe wear. >> thank you. straight ahead, same sex marriage in maryland. voters make a choice today. we're live with question 6. plus, our i-team is on the prowl. they're looking for voting problems. >> and coming up in sports, the redskins players weigh in on mike shanahan's controversial .

a chance to set the record straight. >> clarify a different audience. >> it was the media. the washington redskins players met with the media before hitting the road on a five-daybreak. today also gave coach mike shanahan an opportunity to deliver the same message to his guys about how he is not giving up on the season. the coach told his guys, he was misinterpreted when he spoke right after sunday's loss to the

panthers. he didn't have to do too much explaining. they get it. >> we didn't take it out of context. i think you guys made a bigger deal about it than what we thought it was. >> i i heard it come out of his mouth and i heard his press conference and what he men to say. i know coach shanahan. i know he cares about the organization be this franchise. we've still got seven games left. it is a tough road ahead of us. do we have a tall challenge? we do. that's what we have. that's the whole thing. >> he seem in a good mood today. monday night football redskins' next opponent, visiting the saints. by brett selleck.

into the hachbds patrick robertson. you can see he is going all way. a touchdown. a rough day for vick. he was sacked seven times. saints would be 21-3 at the half. third quarter, crazy play. that's riley cooper playing dead in the end zone during a kickoff. brannon boykin would field the kickoff and then pass across the field to an undetected kicker who will go 94 yards for the touchdown but there was a flag on the play. it was ruled to be an illegal forward pass. no touchdown. that kind of night for the eagles. 28-13, the final. their fourth straight loss. it drops them to 3-5 this season. you know that saying, baptism by fire? that's exactly what the wizards are doing with their pick, bradley beal. the 19-year-old is the second youngest to ever start in a game in the nba. so he is making history with his two starts so far. but unfortunately, he is not making much else. beal was given a warm welcome at

the verizon center saturday night. he has struggled with his shot at home. just like on the road. in the two games he made two out of 13 shots from the field and scored just ten points in the opener against cleveland and only two against the celtics. so bradley, is the nba a bit harder than you thought it would be? >> it's not as hard. it is just nothing. nothing i have to change like physicality wise. it is more mental. my approach to the game and not letting the little things bother me in the game. and just keeping that, it is a 48-minute game. >> beal and the wizards will try to turn their fortunes around starting tomorrow night in boston. and maybe a little inspiration from a visit they got yesterday from justin bieber. >> that's inspiration. >> never say never. >> as he lowered himself with wings from the verizon center. >> he actually stopped in at

practice, too. >> thank you. coming up next, the battle ground state of virginia. all eyes on the old dominion. that has gotten people to the polls. we're live in fairfax county when we come back. and how concern is the northeast

. voters deciding who will live in the white house for the next four years? news4 and nbc news. we've got you covered all night. now let's fast forward to doug and the weather. >> it is a cold election day. the coldest presidential election day potentially ever. look at this. it was 49 degrees back in 1960 as kennedy took on nixon. today we saw a high of only 48 degrees. so yeah. a little cooler today. take a look at these numbers. look at that shot. a beautiful shot from the city cam. you can see the washington monument in the backgrounds. winds out of the east at nine miles an hour. still watching that coastal storm. i'll tell you what that does for us. what happens next in the forecast. long lines met many who went out to cast their ballots in northern virginia. some people reported waiting for hours. in many places, the lines lasted

into the afternoon and into the after work rush. adam is live tonight in bailey's cross road to look at the long lines and see if they're deterring anyone from casting their ballot. >> reporter: the lines have been long all day. in some cases, two and a half hours to three hours. the after work crowd now starting to factor in here and the winds picking up, too. that hasn't stopped anyone from coming out today. two hours plus. three hours plus. waiting to make a mark. >> a long wait inside. hall ways and hall ways and hallways. >> reporter: she was not kidding. lines crisscross and snake around corners. the length and time bging more real around each corner. the ballot box far for many. >> $1.50 while you're waiting in line. make it a littleby. >> reporter: some tried to cheer up the crowds with food. for those who can't stand a long time, a chance to rest until

their partner gets closer. dancing and keeping the feet moving to stay warm. never mine the fact that parking is at a premium in many locations. finding a place to leave the car is tough. some say there should be more help to keep the lines moving. for the most part, the voters take it in stride. >> these people in line are willing to tough it out to vote. >> it is a big election and a lot of people want to vote. i'm trying to not be too hard on them even though it was an arduous experience. >> reporter: that's what we heard over and over again. reporting live, news4. >> long lines record in maryland. this is a look at a voting site in je in germantown this morning. this is a look at the lines at a polling site in potomac. the national races, maryland voters are considering several

controversial ballot questions. tonight maryland could become the first state to legalize it through a voter referendum or join other states that have struck it down. here's reaction from voters. >> reporter: same sex marriage has been debated here in maryland for years. first in the general assembly with the past spring, lawmaker approved civil marriage or marriage equality. then at the polls, last-minute appeals are being made for question 6. as voters walked toward the high school in prince george's county. >> question 6, it is a civil rights issue. >> i'm telling you that it is not civil rights. they can get married or live together or whatever but do not change the meaning of the word marriage for those of us that have a covenant with one another.

one man and one woman. >> i can't tell anyone who to love. that's god's work. i voted for. >> voted against it. i believe god made marriage for a one man and one woman. and there is no other way about it. >> reporter: at bethesda middle school, most voters came to the polls with their minds made up. >> i voted against question 6. and the reason is that i believe that the state shouldn't be defining changing the definition of marriage. it was intended to be a man and a woman and that's the way it should stay. >> i have two daughters. both of whom are getting married this year. one is marrying a man and one is marrying a woman. and i strongly believe that my daughter who is marrying a woman should have the same civil rights as my daughter who is marrying a man. >> reporter: in six states and the district of columbia where same sex marriage is legal, it

was enacted by lawmakers or authorized by the courts. here in maryland, the voters will decide the definition of marriage looking to the future. live in baltimore tonight. chris gordon, news4. maryland isn't the only state voting on same sex marriage today. it is one of four that could change the national landscape for gay and lesbian couples. right now, gay marriage is legal in six states and also legal in the district. tonight voters in maryland, maine and washington state could make it legal in nine states. and they would be the first to legalize gay marriage by popular vote. minnesota voters meanwhile will be deciding to pass an amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. 31 states seen here in red have similar amendments already on the books. california's was ruled unconstitutional and that case is still tied up in court. coming up next, a look at the interesting things on the

ballots across our country. earthquakes on the east coast can travel a lot farther than the experts first thought. we have a new report on last year's quake coming up next. and in maryland, it is question number 4 on the ballot.

republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan just arriving in richmond and one more stop in the old dominion which could be a huge deciding factor, according to some scenarios on this election night. he just came from ohio. he is in rich monday and as weapon, the old dominion, a big battleground state in the fact that they are still -- the polls are still open. voters in maryland tonight are deciding the future of a law that make it easier for the children of undocumented immigrants to attend college. it is called the maryland dream action. and it is on the ballot as question 4. erica gonzalez joins us now live from the university of maryland campus where some supporters of this measure gather tonight. >> we've got about two and a half hours less about, two and a

half hours before the polls close in maryland. we mentioned the dream act. on the ballot, you won't see anything that refers to it as the dream act. let me break it down for you and what it says. this is a proposition that is in favor of undocumented immigrants. >> i have gone these students the ability to attend college at the same cost as their peers. take a look at this video that we shot. these are the lines inside the university of maryland. what we understand now have record turnout this evening for the number of voters that are casting their ballots. now, in order for undocumented immigrants to have the right for in-state tuition under this proposition, they have to prove that they went to a maryland high school for at least three years and that they or their parents filed taxes. now, how else does this play out? students then, or that students that qualify will have to first attend a community college and then they have the option of transferring out to other university. this is for a lot of students

who have been here. a lot of them since kindergarten and have said my parents brought me here. i want to attend the university at the same cost as my peers. however, mixed emotions. some are saying it is still a legal issue and we will hear from them coming up in a few minutes, including one maryland delegate who says this is all a legal issue. stay with us. live from the university of maryland. back to you. all right. geologists are dealing with some key results of their own tonight. data from that powerful i can qua that rocked the east coast last year. that data is now showing that quakes on the east coast, they travel farther than those that occur out west. and they cause damage over larger areas than we first thought. that 5.8 quake centered in

virginia. a third of the population. as far as 150 miles away. coming up next, how social media is playing a big role so far in this election. and what you can expect tonight. >> plus, an alert tsa agent. he spots what looks like a cell phone with a lot more than juice. we're talking about cold temperatures tonight and

i had to bundle up today to

cast my ballot. >> the coldest numbers we've seen on election day, a presidential election day, all the way back to 1960 and beyond. take a look at the number. it is going to be a cold evening. the cold air is here but the rain, not yet. starting to see some of the precipitation. this is not receiving the ground. this just shows you what's happening toward the south and east. the coastal storm is developing. i-95 running right through raleigh here. let's take a look at the risk of the storm system. by 3:00 this morning, this coastal storm giving us a very low impact. from i-95 toward the east. toward the west, almost no impact. may be 20 to 30 miles an hour.

to the east of i-95, closer to the chesapeake. they could get between 40 and 50 miles an hour. we could see some tree damage. i'm not too worried about that. l a low impact, during the in our area. you have to go toward philadelphia and along the coast. you see that medium to high impact. the highest impact areas, the same areas that were affected by sandy. this could be another wallop. they don't want to see this storm coming through and it looks like they'll get hit pretty hard. for us, the greatest area, north and east of washington. what about snowfall? i do think we'll see some snow in parts of the region. some inland snow possible. isolated slick spots. coastal problems for everybody from the del marva.

a few flurries possible, intermixed with shower activity. may be a dusting in these areas by early thursday morning. it won't cause too many problems on the roads unless you're near freezing. north and east baltimore, we could see one to two inches. overnight into the 20s and back to the north and west. about 35 degrees in washington. another very cold night tonight. the next couple of days, we warm up. 53 on your thursday this weekend, spectacular. highs, back into the 60s with plenty of sunshine. >> we're going to check out what a tsa agent found on a woman at reagan national this morning. it looks like a cell phone. it is actually a stun gun. a woman had an early morning flight for chicago and the tsa noticed this deceptive stun gun as it passed through the metal decker. she was able to board her flight

after she gave up the weapon. no charges and the flight wasn't affected. this election day is not going without problems. we've been hearing about the long lines. what's going on out there? >> voters have been calling and e-mailing all day. they're seeing the biggest problem we've seen is in spotsylvania county. stephanie says there are problems in lee hill district. there are currently only two machines working and voter are waiting over three hours to vote. votes there before eight clog a.m. were said to not count because of machine problems. she said this stinks to high heaven. i just got off the phone with the chairman of the electoral board of spotsylvania county. he says there was a mix-up with the machines. which were all set for the congressional district one race. but this is a split precinct where some people were supposed to vote in the seventh district.

that is the race between house majority leader eric canner and his challenger wayne powell. jones said they didn't catch the problem until after an estimated 260 people voted. meaning some of those voters could have cast a vote in the wrong congressional race. but he says there's nothing they can do about it unless there is a court order. now, in d.c. we're hearing from voters all over the district. complaining about long waits. some more than two hours. julio said i've been trying to vote at oyster school. it took an hour to even get signed in. there is only one electronic voting machine and one guy taking paper ballots. agnes moss with the d.c. board of elections tells us, the d.c. voting places only have one machine because in past elections, people wanted to vote with paper ballots. she said this year they're having a record turnout and more people are opting for those electronic machines. moss says if you're in line by

8:00 p.m. tonight, you will be able to vote. we've also received complaints about two-hour plus waits in prince william and stafford counties. both of those tell us they had normal start-up glitches that were quickly fixed within a half-hour. we've heard about the power going out in fairfax county. a spokesperson there says battery back-up ensures all votes are counseled. if you see other voting problems, call us at 202-885-4444. or e-mail us at tims and news4 i-team.com. >> thank you. we've been reporting about the ballot questions facing voters in d.c., maryland and virginia. >> there are some interesting issues coming up in the voting booths around the country. tom sherwood will be joining me on the web to keep us up on all things about the election. let's look at the states. california has two controversial issues.

>> all the way out to california. it is really interesting. there will be voting on whether to abolish the death penalty. there are 702 people on death row. if this passes, their sentences will be commuted to life in prison without parole. also an initiative to ban genetically modified food stuff's. i'm sorry, not to ban it. to put it on the label. some people want to ban it. >> so you know it has been genetically modified. soy protein. >> they said it would be a nightmare to enforce with the labels and all that. let's move on. in massachusetts. assisted suicide. >> interesting. we now that have in oregon is the only state that allows that, correct? >> if you have a fatal disease,

you can end your life. >> >>, colorado, oregon and washington state have measures to approve recreational marijuana. not marijuana for health reasons as some other states have like the district of columbia. if any of these states, colorado, oregon or washington state approve it, that would be in direct conflict with the federal law about marijuana use. the u.s. attorney eric holder, the attorney general, he will fight this. there will be some court cases coming out of this. so many people are starting to push the envelope. >> and let me say arkansas and massachusetts have medical marijuana on their ballots. so across the country. from maine, same sex, to california, nearly 200 events. 200 ballot initiatives to be paying attention to. >> and you and i will be on the web. >> we'll be together on the

quarter hour and the 45. >> yep. on nbc washington.com. you will see the team of they are wu and rieger. >> you can get them on the go wherever you are. let's day talk has been surging all day long on social media. >> how you can get involved. >> a quarter of you have taken to online to say you voted or plan to already. that according to a research study just out. >> the pictures with i voted. twitter reporting more than 6 million election-related tweets since midnight. that's 2,000 tweets per minutes.

and on facebook, many shared their election day experience we're $78 million. 251% spending increase from four years ago. >> of course, we want to know about your voting experience. tweet at nbc washington using that #decision 2012. we're also taking your feedback on facebook as well. just search nbc washington. >> big night. good luck. when we come back at 5:00. >>

clean-up continues after hurricane sandy, leaders in new york and new jersey are turning their attention to tomorrow's forecast. they're worried about the northeast per could bring 50 to 60-mile-an-hour winds and more coastal flooding. voting did go on today in both states. new york allowed voters to cast their ballots at any precinct. lines were long and many folks had to vote under tents because the polling places had no power.

>> after nine days of helping in new york and new jersey, members of the task force one back home tonight. fema activated the urban search and rescue team before hurricane sandy arrived. the mission was to search for storm victims, rescue them, get them medical care after the storms. an elite rescue team in fairfax county also back tonight from helping sandy victims. virginia task force one returned from new jersey this morning. >> the team told jackie bensen they were honored to help. >> reporter: the first thing that struck meks of what is known as virginia task force one was that the flooded town of little ferry new jersey reminded them of another rescue mission. one they'll never forget. >> new orleans on a smaller ska scale. the scenarios are pretty similar.

once the levies broke, it flooded the homes. they returned home to the enthusiastic welcome. they were praised by the board of supervisors for a job well done. a job they say got a little hairy at one point. power started coming up in some areas. they got control of them. it was the house fires. >> reporter: the attitude of the stunned, drenched people they rescued? >> they were very grateful. and yeah, they were very grateful for the system that was in place and the chain of responsiblers and the chain of assistance. >> reporter: no matter how many times it was dispatched, there was a great send of pride. when someone, anywhere in the worst possible circumstances cries out for help, part of the

response begins here. reporting from fairfax county. voters place broken machines and there was at least one arrest on election day. virginia under the national spotlight. people lining up. >> after months of bitter campaigning, the results could carry over into the morning. good evening on this election night. i'm doreen gentzler. >> and i'm jim vance. we are downing down the hours until the polls close. virginia has only an hour left for balloting there. governor romney is campaigning until the very last minute. president obama will spend election night in chicago. steve handelsman has our report from there. >> reporter: mitt and ann romney voted in belmont, massachusetts. the end of a grueling campaign with high hopes for a key state. >> i feel great about ohio. thank you. >> reporter: he headed off to cleveland for one laugh effort. president obama who voted